For the this assignment, I made a 4” x 4” x 4″ box using the M2 laser cutter and plywood. I made 2 boxes using the same svg but different laser parameters.
First I measured the thickness of my plywood piece: 0.185 in. i used 1/8in as my material thickness input in MakerCase (en.makercase.com ) and generated a box. I used 0.01 inch as my kerf value, and it turned out to be good.
I had a hard time adjusting where the print is going to be as the template file in the instruction was not there anymore. I know to do a dry run first but I could not remember how and by the time I was there there was no lab assistant available. So the first box had some extra cut on the front piece. After all that I remembered from training that to create a 40×28 file on our own and copy our design in, that made the process a lot smoother.
My first cut was not perfect. The pieces fit together nicely but the pattern was not great. Even though there were not flame during the cutting process, the cut part seemed to be burnt. So I came back the next day to do another trial with lower power and you can see the difference very clearly.
Cost Breakdown
- Raw Materials: Birch Plywood 32″x24″ – 1 : $5
- Tools : Epilog M2 laser cutter, $0 from OEDK access
- Labor: 3 Hours – $10 per hour : $30
Total Cost: $35
Reflection
Through this project, I learnt how to use the laser cutter and use it to make a box. I learnt that little details like kerf, laser cutter parameters are very important for the success of a cut with post cut assembly. I enjoyed this project and am happy to learn how to use the laser cutter. I even came back and made an extra name tag for my little brother.
